I did some searching. It seems no one makes mast pads anymore. As others mentioned earlier it is not going to be the boom that strikes the nose; rather the mast. Back to square one.

What about a Deviator?

Does anyone use them or have previous experience using the Deviator? It could perhaps do the trick however, I have some questions or concerns about the Deviator.

1. It looks like unless the mast falls directly forward toward the nose and Deviator, it will bypass the Deviator altogether and strike the board either side of it. How wide of an arc does the Deviator protect?

2. If the mast does make contact with the Deviator there is a lot of force that still has to be transferred somewhere (i.e. in to the mast or through the Deviator back in to the boards' mast track. Anyone ever broken a mast or damaged a board at the mast track from using a Deviator?

3. It is installed in a pretty important location.
A. Does it interfere with your feet when you are doing tacks and stepping around the front of the board?
B. When setting up for a waterstart does it prevent you from maneuvering the sail over the nose of the board?

Many people (including me) don't like the deviators because of the pinch point (don't get a hand or foot caught between the mast and deviator), the potential to tear out your mast track, and the difficulty in maneuvering the rig while you're in the water._________________Brian S
www.miwindsurfing.com

Yeah, I hear you on the concern about the look of a nose pad, but they can be applied to be less noticeable. I used a northshorinc nose pad ( http://northshoreinc.com/store/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=142 ), using Isobars' installation tips. The edges were white and stood out on my orange board. So, I used an orange Sharpie to color the edge. Really helped it blend in.

I held off adding a nose pad for a few seasons, but I ended up cracking/crushing the nose of my board twice due to mast strikes. Having to come off the water early and spending time on the repairs were worse than the slightly altered look, imo. Since adding the pad, no more damage (knock on ... er .. pad); and, I know the mast has slammed the nose hard several times in crashes.

I didn't care for the deviators when needing to manipulate the rig in the water, but just a personal choice.

I use a deviator for foiling since the rigs are light and catapults are common. It works well for what it's designed to do and I haven't cracked a nose with it yet.
However padding both mast and board is better IMHO.

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